1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for providing a centralized messaging service for a subscriber.
2. Description of Related Art
Many different types of messaging services are currently used by subscribers to these services. For example, pager services, voice mail, electronic mail, and the like are utilized on a daily basis. A person may subscribe to any number of these services and thus be able to receive messages from a plurality of different sources using their various message devices.
Currently, a party usually sends a message to a service subscribed to by the subscriber in a way that may be convenient to the service. For example, a sending party may choose to send a message by way of an alpha pager service as opposed to voice mail. In this situation, the receiving party who does not have immediate access to an alpha pager may not receive the message promptly. Thus, unless the receiving party has access to a particular message device corresponding to the messaging service that the sending party used, the receiving party may not receive their messages promptly. Accordingly, there is a need for new technology to assist subscribers in receiving their messages promptly.
The present invention provides a centralized messaging service method and apparatus in which a message is sent to a subscriber""s messaging services. When a message is left for a receiving party, by a sending party, a centralized message service processor sends the message to messaging services to which the receiving party subscribes. In this way, the receiving party is able to receive messages promptly regardless of the messaging service with which the sender chooses to send the message.
When sending a message, the sending party activates a user device and enters the access number for the centralized message service. The centralized message service processor receives the communication signals from the sending party and prompts the sending party to enter an identifier of the receiving party for whom they wish to leave a message. The centralized message service processor then verifies that the entered identifier corresponds to a subscriber of the centralized messaging service and, if so, prompts the sending party to enter the message that they wish to send.
Once the sending party enters the message, the centralized message service processor retrieves profile information, based on the access number entered by the sending party, from a database that indicates the messaging services subscribed to by the receiving party. The centralized message service processor then forwards the message to the receiving party by sending the message to the receiving party""s messaging service providers. The centralized message service processor then monitors the messaging service providers to determine if the receiving party has accessed the message on any of the messaging service providers. If the receiving party accesses the message on any of the messaging service providers, the message is then deleted from the remaining messaging service providers or a selected number of them.
The profile information retrieved from the database may identify the messaging service providers to which the message is to be sent. Thus, for example, the receiving party may designate in their profile that the message should only be sent to their voice mail accounts and electronic mail and not sent to their pagers or vice versa. Likewise, the receiving party may designate which of the messaging services should delete the message once it is accessed by the receiving party.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the centralized message service processor also provides the capability of translating the message into other message types used by the various messaging services to which the receiving party subscribes. Thus, the message may be sent to all of the messaging services subscribed to by the receiving party. These and other features and advantages are described in or are apparent from the following disclosure.